If I’m hitting that button its because my life is in danger so there’s no need to worry about money. About 15 minutes later, I could hear the hum of the rotors and see the lights on the bottom of the helicopter. And I was protected enough to pull my icy gloves off and let my hands thaw while I waited for new instructions. I’d planned for the cold weather to descend on me, but I hadn’t anticipated a true blizzard in early September! Knowing I had a way to communicate, no matter how far I was from a cell tower, was like having the benefits of a hiking partner, while still allowing me to hike solo.

However, I suspect plenty of people might actually hesitate if they stop to consider what their rescue bills might amount to in some parts of the U. Once this rescue was over, I could have slunk off into anonymity and pretended none of this ever happened. I’d shifted from my original spot over to a flat, open area where the helicopter could land more easily as I’d been directed to do by the SAR coordinator. That aside, when there are other adventures on the horizon, there’s no time to cry into your beer so to speak, but rather just move on with your planning!It only took us 15 minutes to fly to the small mountain town of Kamas, Utah, where we were met by an ambulance that would take me the rest of the way to the hospital in Park City. I came here wondering how much it costs to hit the SOS button but after reading this I realize that the cost doesn’t matter.

Then I needed to continuously press the button while the timer counted down backwards from from 30 on the screen. Being able to send my family a preset message each evening to let them know I was alive was reassuring for all of us.I love my InReach Mini but have never needed to press that SOS button and was wondering what would happen if I ever do. His co-pilot jumped out and started wading through the knee- and thigh-deep drifts of snow toward my position in the rocks. When everything began to spiral out of control, it really was the difference between my safety and a potentially fatal outcome. Downloading the app to your phone and pairing with a phone via bluetooth (before your trip begins), is an essential part to texting anything other than your three preset messages.

But I would never have taken the extreme measure of pressing the SOS button unless I was ready to cross over the threshold of summoning a real-world rescue. I’d checked the weather forecast once again on the way back down, and it now showed a 30-60% chance of rain/snow overnight. For messages to anyone other than the Garmin Response during an SOS, standard messaging charges will be applied based on your plan. Plus, there are three different subscription plans – The Safety Plan, The Recreation Plan, or the Expedition Plan – depending on how often you want to text, check the weather, or track your specific route.

Also, don't lie having too many pegs and guylines in the vicinity of be tent as it leaves little room to sit outside behind the shelter of the windbreak. The abysmal weather was showing no signs of abating, and each time my tent collapsed in the the strong wind, I became more and more concerned that I might not make it through the night. We attempted to put it up once, failed, was that frustrated with it that have never tried again since! Then he slowly lowered the helicopter onto a flat area at the far end of the lake and landed about 300 meters from me.